


kiss, kiss, fall in...?!

by ohvictor, vaahtokarkki



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Kissing, Nonbinary Character, Other, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-03 21:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohvictor/pseuds/ohvictor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaahtokarkki/pseuds/vaahtokarkki
Summary: In the front of the room, sensei reveals that the idol course third years will be running a kissing booth for each class. Rei’s trying to fall asleep, but they can’t help but perk up at this idea. A potentially horrid concept, but interesting to say the least... And who would 3A choose?(or: a collaboration fic where kaoru and rei kiss a lot of people and then, finally, each other)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is a collab fic we’re doing for rei and kaoru’s birthdays. we met thru fic and have been friends for nearly a year now, so we’re very excited to work on this project together! 
> 
> chapters will be posted every few days until nov 2/3 (rei and kaoru’s bdays), so please look forward to it! also, we’ve chosen to write rei as nonbinary in this fic.

Kaoru drags himself to morning class for one reason only; there’s a cultural festival coming up, and he at least wants to know what they’re gonna do. Plus, if he’s there to express his opinion, he can decline any role he doesn’t want to do.

He expects them to discuss ideas, first a few suggestions and then talk and vote, but instead, sensei tells them the decision has already been made. A friendly competition with 3B? That does sound interesting, but what will they even compete about? Maybe they’ll have cafes? Kaoru wouldn’t mind that — it would bring in a lot of cute girls, for sure.

What he’s _not_ expecting are kissing booths.

“I’m not doing it”, says Shu immediately, crossing his arms over his chest. “Not a chance.”

Towards the front of the classroom, Eichi’s eyes have lit up, and he twists to look at Keito.

Evidently Keito is not amused. “ _You’re_ not doing it, you’d catch mono within minutes!”

Eichi huffs. “Noo, I think _you_ should do it~”

Keito shakes his head vehemently. “I don’t think I would make a very popular candidate. What about… Sena?”

Izumi frowns and shoots Keito a venomous glare. “No way. These lips come with a price tag higher than anyone at this school could afford.”

Chiaki, ever so eager to resolve a conflict, slaps his hands on the table. “What about Mikejima-san? Everyone really respects you!”

“Noo”, Madara laughs. “I’d be su~per bored if I sat at one booth all day, though? Mama wants to see the whole festival!”

Chiaki seems to come to some kind of a resolution, and he’s visibly blushing as he speaks. “Eehh… Maybe I could do it! If our class needs a hero, then I... “

Izumi _tsks_ , and pokes at Chiaki’s cheeks. “Don’t push yourself.”

Kaoru hasn’t yet raised his voice, but he’s been listening to every word. No one seems too excited about manning the booth, and Kaoru weighs the pros and cons of volunteering.

There would be girls, right? And, well… boys as well. The thought has Kaoru both intrigued and terrified. If he did this, he’d have an excuse to try kissing boys, and no one would think twice of it.

Besides, if he knows anything about 3B, the most likely volunteer from them will be Wataru… if their booths are close, at least Kaoru has guaranteed entertainment. Maybe he’ll even get to play with a bird. And if Wataru is there, Rei will visit, too —

“Ahh, hey?” Kaoru calls out before he can change his mind. “I could do it?”

There’s a moment before the others realise who spoke, then a stunned silence, and all of their shocked eyes turned to Kaoru.

“Hakaze, it’s okay!” Chiaki bursts out. “You… you don’t have to! I, Chiaki Morisawa, would be happy to—”

Izumi interrupts Chiaki before he can finish the sentence. “Hey, Kao-kun, you really want to?” He shoots Kaoru an appraising look, and Kaoru swallows hard. “If you’re serious, then yeah. No one else wants to.”

Next to the windows, Shu clears his throat, pointedly looking away as he adjusts Mademoiselle’s dress.

“Hakaze, don’t be ridiculous”, Keito scoffs. “You’d have to kiss b—”

“He said he’d do it”, Izumi kicks the back of Keito’s chair.

Kaoru doesn’t know what Izumi’s motivations in this are, but he’s grateful to receive the support. He lifts his chin and takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m serious. It’s for the sake of the class, you know? We gotta beat whoever the other class sends, and Moricchi seems nervous.”

To be fair, his class is kind of shitty sometimes, but the line seems to work well enough, though everyone is still looking at him, probably unsure if he _really_ is serious.

Chiaki still looks somewhat embarrassed, but he nods a few times in agreement. “Yeah, well… if you’re sure!!”

After that, everyone else starts nodding too, and the tension dissipates, as they accept that Kaoru _is_ serious about this.

Kaoru sighs, relieved. He barely bluffed himself through that, but now, everything should be easier. He’s still not sure whether this was a _good_ decision, but he’s interested to see how it turns out.

\----

Rei’s dozing at their desk, letting the dialogue of their classmates, the shuffling of clothes and papers, and the ticking of the clock lull them not to sleep but to stupor. At the head of the classroom, sensei is explaining something about the upcoming cultural festival. Rei already knows this; they’ve already been treated to complaints from Koga, whose class has been fighting over their theme for the past few days.

A cultural festival sounds like a huge pain—a whole school day where Rei has to be awake during human hours and probably stand in the sun as well. Hopefully if they ignore all the planning, they’ll be left out of it.

In the front of the room, sensei reveals that the idol course third years will be running a kissing booth for each class. People will be able to pay a certain amount to kiss whoever is staffing it, with a loose competitive aspect to see which class can raise the most funds for idol activities. Rei’s trying to fall asleep, but they can’t help but perk up at this idea. A potentially horrid concept, but _interesting_ to say the least... And who would 3A choose? Rei can imagine how it would go, probably with Tenshouin offering, Izumi and Shu flat-out refusing... Perhaps Chiaki would offer in that charming way of his. With Rei’s luck, it won’t be anyone cute but instead someone like Keito, guilted into it as vice president, or perhaps even Madara. _Not_ cute.

No one in 3B seems to be coming forward to nominate themself. Admittedly, Rei is feigning sleep, and Kanata and Leo aren’t even present, which is already nearly half of the class.

A few rows in front of Rei, Kiryu raises his hand. “Should we vote on it?”

The rest of the class - all few of them - nod. Rei lifts their head half an inch off their desk, and catches sight of Wataru, sitting next to them and grinning in a way that makes Rei’s stomach drop.

Oh, there’s nothing good about that expression. Rei lowers their face back down and mushes it against the cool surface of their desk.

Unfortunately, Wataru will not be stopped. “Oh, oh! I have a suggestion,” he says brightly. He _knows_ Rei isn’t asleep, and yet he’s talking loud enough to wake them...?! “If we want to get customers, then I think we _all_ know who’s the best choice.” He pauses, as if anyone is going to challenge him. “And no, I’m not talking about myself.”

As if cruelly playing along, Aoba and Kiryu turn in their chairs to look curiously at Wataru. Rei continues trying to become one with their desk.

“I can vouch,” Wataru continues, after pausing to build suspense, “that dear Rei is an _excellent_ kisser. I think we should all collectively choose them...☆”

Sensei sighs, long-suffering. “We can vote on it.”

Rei hates that this is happening. A kissing booth _might_ be fun, and last year they certainly would have enjoyed something like that, but they’re old now, and the combination of a day in the sunlight and all those teenage hormones might just kill them. Of course, Wataru probably thinks it’s funny, or perhaps he has something even worse up his sleeve. And he had to go and tell the whole class that they’ve kissed before. Well, not that that would surprise anyone. Hopefully it’s not too late to stop him from causing _more_ damage.

“H...” Rei tries. Wataru ignores them. “Hibiki-kun...” Wataru is too far away for Rei to physically restrain him. “I do not want to do a kissing booth...”

No one hears their weak complaints, and no one votes against Wataru’s suggestion. Ah, they are all traitors, _especially_ Kiryu and Aoba, always causing Rei grief... It’s not fair... And Wataru’s the worst of them all. Rei will have to lecture him later, even though they’ll probably just get laughed at.

After their fate has been sealed, sensei clears his throat. “Well... Sakuma-kun. You have been chosen, so if you would wake up, please...”

Ah, Rei’s being given an out here. Well, they will certainly not ‘wake up’.

Sensei clears his throat again. “Sakuma-kun...”

Unfortunately, Wataru is not done being a menace in Rei’s life. Out of the corner of their eye, Rei sees him bounce up out of his seat. “I’ve got this!” he says, striding to Rei’s desk. He leans over them, lips ghosting over their temple. “You’re so cute when you’re pretending to be sleeping,” he whispers, inaudible to the rest of the class.

Rei scrunches up their nose, which clearly isn’t the response Wataru wanted.

“Rei~i,” he murmurs, petting Rei’s hair, “I’ve got some great news for you!” He pokes at Rei’s face. Rei wishes they could bite his fingertip off.

With this sort of onslaught, it would be too obvious if they kept faking sleep. They turn their head to the side and frown up at Wataru. “Hello, Hibiki-kun.”

Wataru’s whole face lights up when Rei stirs, which somehow makes the whole thing more frustrating. “Oh, hello! Good morning! Hey, hey, we chose you to represent our class, just now!”

Rei makes a show of grumbling and pulling themself up, regarding Wataru tiredly. They squint around at the rest of the class, most of whom look unamused. “Aoba-kun...? Nito-kun? Et tu?”

The others just shrug at them. Sensei sighs. “You can just explain it all to Sakuma-kun later, okay, Hibiki-kun? I don’t feel like explaining it twice.”

Wataru just laughs and pets Rei’s hair again. “It would be my absolute _pleasure_!”


	2. Setting Up

The day of the cultural festival arrives, with the forecast promising sunshine and clear skies. Kaoru had tried to dodge out of having to set up, but in the end he arrives just in time to help drag tables and chairs along the main street in front of the school. The whole avenue is busy, thick with people shouting and carrying supplies, half-costumed and tripping over table legs and banners. Some of the other classes are heating up grills to make food, and the air fills with the smells of smoke and spice, adding to the cacophony of sounds and colors.

It’s all a little overwhelming, and Kaoru hides behind 3A’s booth as soon as the banner proclaiming “KISSES - 200¥” is hung up over it. It’s just a plastic table retrieved from somewhere in the depths of the school, with a simple wooden booth on top so that Kaoru has a counter to lean over, but it’s enough to separate him from the rest of the noisy world for now. He digs his phone out of his pocket and checks his messages, then the weather, then Enstagram, his hands and mind too restless to sit still.

The true reason he’s anxious for today continues to weigh heavy on him. No one he’s asked has seemed to know who 3B’s representative will be. Kanata had outright told him he’d skipped class the day they picked representatives, and then he’d diverted Kaoru’s attention to the fish tanks and avoided further questions. And the only other person in 3B Kaoru sees regularly _also_ happens to be the reason he’s so anxious.

Of course, Rei’s not here this early. 3B’s kissing booth is set up a few feet from 3A’s, but Hibiki and Kiryu had set it up and then disappeared, neither of them saying a word to Kaoru (though Kaoru had hastily occupied himself several feet away with some flyers as soon as Hibiki appeared). Aside from them, Kaoru hasn’t seen anyone else from 3B, no one he could flag down and ask. It’d be a casual enough question. Their booths are right next to each other. ‘ _Which guy will I have the displeasure of watching get kissed all day_?’ He could play it off. He has it all planned out.

As the festival’s opening hour drifts closer, Kaoru grows exponentially more nervous. He’s tried very hard _not_ to think about the very real possibility that he could have to watch people kiss Rei all day. There are a lot of possibilities within that one category as well. Rei is really handsome, and really charming, and Kaoru can’t imagine anyone in the damn school passing up the chance to kiss them, so it’s possible they’ll draw a huge crowd. But also, Rei is a weird old vampire, so maybe they won’t attract that many people. Maybe they’re a really bad kisser, and Kaoru will have to listen to tongue noises all day. (Would that really be that awful, if they’re _Rei’s_ tongue noises?) Or maybe they’re an _excellent_ kisser, and Kaoru’s chest will hurt with jealousy for hours.

No matter how he looks at it, he’s fucked. So hopefully it won’t be Rei. Maybe it’ll be Nito, who would be a fun and cute booth partner. Maybe it’ll be Hibiki, who would give Kaoru a headache but no chest pains. Maybe it’ll be Kanata, who probably kisses like a fish. Kaoru imagines Kanata puckering up his lips and going in for a kiss and has to hide a laugh behind his hand.

“What’s funny, Kaoru-kun?”

Kaoru lifts his head so fast he almost whacks it on the edge of his booth. It’s as if he’s programmed to overreact to that voice, even if he hadn’t just been thinking about Sakuma Rei. And there they are, wearing a cute purple shirt and black jeans and wielding their customary black parasol, looking weak and sweaty already even though the heat of the day hasn’t fully set in yet. Behind them, predictably, Kaoru spots two other Oddballs—Hibiki is standing with his hands on his hips in front of 3B’s booth, and Shu is reaching over his shoulder, irritably fixing the angle of the banner, Mademoiselle tucked under his other arm.

“Ah,” Kaoru says to Rei. “Nothing. You’re kinda late, Sakuma-san?”

“Yes, Hibiki-kun permitted Itsuki-kun and I to hide inside until the last possible moment,” Rei sighs. “Were you helping set up? You really are a good boy...”

“Well,” Kaoru says, as if his cheeks aren’t flushing at the praise, “I am trying!” From the fact that Rei’s carrying their parasol, Kaoru guesses they’re planning to walk around, and it’s as if a weight lifts from his chest. 3B’s representative is probably Hibiki, then; it’d explain why Hibiki set up the booth and then returned to it, and perhaps Rei is here to get him started? Kaoru can probably handle watching Rei kiss Hibiki. Even Shu would be all right. It’s a shame he can’t walk around the festival with Rei, though.

He watches Hibiki and Shu mess with the banner, Hibiki laughing as he tugs it out of position again, and then he watches Rei, their gaze fond as they watch their friends argue.

Now they’re down to five minutes before the festival officially begins. Kunugi, making his rounds, stops in front of the pair of kissing booths, and squints at Hibiki and Shu. “Are these booths ready?”

“Yes!” Hibiki promises, stepping away from the booth. “We were just heading out.” He steps back and pats Rei’s shoulder. Behind them, Shu steps away from 3B’s banner, his hands raised as if giving up on a particularly difficult child.

Kunugi nods, and moves past them to check on another booth. Rei retracts their parasol and tucks it under one arm. Kaoru watches them morosely. They really look cute today, even though they’re clearly wilting. Kaoru wishes he could hold their hand and lead them around the festival.

“I hope you have fun at the festival,” he says, catching Rei’s eye. Rei blinks at him, so Kaoru clarifies, “I can’t really walk around with you.”

“Oh?” Rei gives him a pained smile. “Unfortunately, Kaoru-kun, I will not be walking around with the others.”

Kaoru frowns. “You won’t?”

Behind Rei, Hibiki comes up and claps his hand down on Rei’s shoulder. “Have fun at your booth, Rei-chan!”

“ _Don’t_ call me that, and this is your fault,” Rei grumbles, shrugging Hibiki’s hand off. As Kaoru watches, they trudge over to the booth and lean their parasol against it.

Where it will likely stay for the rest of the festival. Because Rei is running 3B’s kissing booth.

“You both have a good day!” Hibiki singsongs, and the grin he’s wearing tells Kaoru exactly who he can blame for this. Shu places his hand on Kaoru’s counter, giving him a long-suffering look, and then follows Hibiki off into the growing crowds.

“Wait,” Rei says, their voice strained. Kaoru turns to see their face has grown even paler. “Kaoru-kun... You’re representing 3A?”

“Yes,” Kaoru grits out.

Rei shuts their eyes for a moment. “Okay,” they mumble, rubbing at their forehead. “Well, good luck with today.”

Before Kaoru can begin to process what’s going on, Chiaki appears directly in his face. He slaps his hands down on the booth counter, sporting his characteristic huge grin and way too much energy for this time of day. “Hakaze! I’d like to purchase a kiss!”

Kaoru reels backwards. Luckily, Chiaki is also hauled back a foot by Izumi, one hand clamped onto Chiaki’s collar. “Hey, slow down. He looks terrified.” He squints at Kaoru. “Sure you can handle this?”

“On the bright side, after this, I can do anything”, Kaoru manages to laugh. He glances at Rei, who has busied themself with their phone, though it looks more like they’re just pretending to use it.

”Kao~kun, focus”, Izumi lets Chiaki approach the booth again, and when Kaoru snaps his eyes back at them, Izumi gives him a knowing look.

”H-huh?” Kaoru gulps. ”A kiss, right?”

Chiaki laughs, then digs his pocket for two coins, and hands them to Kaoru. ”Here you go!”

Kaoru fumbles with the money box, growing more and more nervous with each second. He’s never kissed a boy before, but it’s Chiaki, so it’s fine, right…? Chiaki is his friend, and hopefully, not an _awful_ kisser. At least he’s enthusiastic, so this should take Kaoru’s edge off.

Chiaki leans over the counter, still grinning, and Kaoru raises his notably sweaty hands. Still, he may not know much about kissing boys, but it should be the same as with girls, right? He cups Chiaki’s face in his palms. Eyes closed, he leans in, and — right, just as he guessed, Chiaki responds with vigor, smashing their lips together with more force than Kaoru intended.

When Chiaki pulls back, Kaoru blinks, catching his breath. His first instinct is to glance at Rei again, and Rei meets his gaze — just for a moment — and then looks away again.

”Well? How was that for today’s first kiss?” Chiaki asks proudly.

”Nice, I guess?”

Izumi slams two coins on the counter, with a heavy sigh falling from his lips. ”It seems I have to do this for the sake of the class.”

”Senacchi?”

”First, you don’t _have_ to touch the customer’s face. Only if you feel like it suits them. For example…”

With one swift movement, Izumi hooks a thumb under Kaoru’s chin, lifting it as he leans close, eyes boring into Kaoru’s. Kaoru only has time to raise his eyebrows and part his lips when Izumi already kisses him, slow but firm.

No girl has ever kissed him like this, and when Izumi ends the kiss, Kaoru’s head nudges forward. He was starting to get lost in it, and the realisation makes his face flush in an instant, even more when Izumi smirks at him. ”Yeah, and it’s better the more genuine your reactions are, just like that one. It’ll make the customers feel appreciated.”

”T-thanks”, Kaoru stutters. ”For the advice.”

”Aw, you’re gonna do _great_ ”, Izumi squeezes at his cheek. ”More innocent than you look, huh? People will love that.”

”Yeah, yeah!” Chiaki agrees. ”And you have soft lips! I’m sure everyone will be pleased.”

”Oh, god”, Kaoru thumps his head down on his booth in defeat. ”Thanks… I guess.”

Chiaki gives an encouraging pat on his shoulder, powerful and firm. ”You’re welcome! I’m sure you’ll have fun today.”

Kaoru begins to lift his face, but finds that Izumi is leaning down. ”You should try to impress them, hmm? Maybe they’ll want a kiss, too?”

Kaoru jumps up, face now flaring. ”Senacchi, don’t say _any_ more —”

”Oka~y, we’re going”, Izumi nudges at Chiaki, and Chiaki follows him, but waves at Kaoru as they leave.

”Good luck! We’ll check on you later!”

”Bye”, Kaoru mutters. With a heavy sigh, he puts Izumi’s money in the box.

”Was that your first kiss with a boy?”

The question startles Kaoru, and his eyes are wide and his heart frantic  as he looks up at Rei, who is now staring at him from under their eyelashes.

”Ah… actually, yes. Embarrassing, huh?” Kaoru laughs, rubbing at the back of his neck.

”I see”, Rei’s voice is quiet.

”Well, I’m sure it’ll get easier! Those guys are just… a bit too much, you know~?”

”I’m sure”, Rei chuckles, but their eyes are oddly melancholic. Before Kaoru can catch it, though, they look away again.

Kaoru worries the warmth of the day may already be wearing down on them, but there’s little he can do to provide comfort. They do have water bottles provided for them, but it’s just as possible they’ll forget or even ignore them.

Kaoru takes out one of his own water bottles in hopes it will prompt Rei to remember they have those, too. He’s almost certain he feels Rei’s eyes on him when he drinks from it, but by the time he finishes, Rei is staring down at their own booth again.


	3. The Aoi Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was written by captain, but wabby helped with editing and plotting, as it's still part of the collab project!

Everything Rei has witnessed in the past several minutes has felt like a punch in the gut. What might be worse is the fact that things _keep happening_ , one after another, leaving them no time to recover. Such as the fact that Wataru evidently knew this exact situation would occur, that Kaoru was 3A’s representative? It’s easier to blame Wataru than consider that _Rei_ should have known—Kaoru is in their _unit_ , after all, and Rei could have asked. _Oh, by the way, do you know who 3A’s representative will be?_ But then if they’d known, they probably wouldn’t have been able to squeeze out even a wink of sleep the night before. Compared to the measly two hours of sleep they ended up getting.

Ah, it’s hard to concentrate in such sunlight. In a way, it’s a boon, because they only watch Kaoru receive his first two kisses of the day with about half as much perceptive power as they might if it were evening. But it’s still enough that they catch how Kaoru’s pulse begins to race as he kisses Izumi, and the way Izumi comments on him being _into it_. And Chiaki saying he has soft lips. That’s unfair, because Rei knows their own lips are very dry, so if they were to— _oh, this is a bad train of thought, but_ —if _they_ were to kiss _Kaoru_ , perhaps it would be painful for him.

Not that Rei will kiss Kaoru anyway.

And, perhaps they should be more worried about their own customers receiving scratchy kisses. If only they were a functional person who could whip chapstick out of their pocket when needed! Perhaps Wataru— No, Wataru is a traitor, and will not be relied upon today.

After Kaoru’s classmates leave, the two kissing booths lapse into a silence that Rei tries to convince themself is comfortable. It needs to be, because Rei does not have the brainpower to _fix_ it if it is not. They end up slumped forward over their counter, eyes drooped shut, and when Kaoru does not speak again, they sink into a daze, only rousing when their name is called.

“Sakuma-senpai!”

It’s not Kaoru, so Rei doesn’t lift their head, even as loud footsteps approach. It’s one of the twins—perhaps both, although it was Hinata who spoke—so if Rei doesn’t react, they’ll soon be forced to. And sure enough, a moment later they feel something very cold pressed to their temple.

“What is _that_?” Rei’s voice cracks embarrassingly on delivery. They look up and find a can of tomato juice has been set on their station, ice cold and probably straight from a vending machine.

“You look like you’re going to die,” Hinata says, slapping their hands on the counter of Rei’s booth.

“You have saved this old vampire,” Rei groans. They clutch the can of juice and press it to their face.

“It was Yuuta-kun’s idea,” Hinata says proudly. Rei squints at the air around Hinata and discovers, as predicted, Yuuta, fidgeting a step or two behind them.

“What did I do to get such cute, thoughtful juniors?” Rei reaches out a hand towards Hinata. “You are too young for kissing booths, but let me give you a kiss on the cheek. For free, since you gave me juice.”

“Only if Yuuta-kun also gets one,” Hinata says.

Yuuta looks unconvinced. “You don’t have vampire cooties, do you, senpai?”

“How rude.” Rei sets the can of tomato juice back down on the counter and leans forward. Hinata laughs and leans in, and allows Rei to plant a quick kiss on their cheek.

At contact, they immediately squirm away. “Cold! Your lips are cold! And scratchy! Don’t you have chapstick?”

Rei pouts. “Do _you_ have chapstick?”

“I have some,” Yuuta offers. “You can have it if you want.”

“You already gave me this juice, so I cannot take anything else from you today.” Rei beckons Yuuta forward with one finger. “Come over here.”

“Warm your face up before you kiss him,” Hinata instructs. “I won’t let you subject my precious brother to the cold kiss of death! Not today!”

Unfortunately, the first thing Rei thinks of to _warm their lips_ is Kaoru, just feet away and certainly very warm. Awful! They shake their head slightly, and rub their hand over their mouth. Friction is warm, right? It’s good enough. “All right, all right.”

Yuuta grimaces, but he leans in so Rei can kiss his cheek. When Rei pulls back, he pats the spot where Rei’s lips made contact, looking surprised. “That wasn’t so bad.”

Hinata laughs, tugging on Yuuta’s arm. “Okay, you have to be more alive now, Sakuma-senpai, or you won’t make any money, right? Or maybe you’re going for the Sleeping Beauty thing?”

“Maybe.” Rei lowers their face back down onto their counter. “Thank you for visiting me.”

“Enjoy your juice,” Yuuta says, and one of them pets the top of Rei’s head. When Rei lifts their head, the twins are already heading off towards the food carts down the street.

Ah, the energy of children. Rei feels almost revived, but as they watch the pair of first years departing, they can feel the sunlight once again sapping their energy. It’s not fair. They slump against their booth again, holding the tomato juice feebly against their forehead.

If the rest of the day is like this, it’s going to be a long one.


	4. UNDEAD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was written by captain, but wabby helped with editing and plotting, as it's still part of the collab project!

By the time Rei and Kaoru’s unitmates appear an hour later, Rei’s taken part in a handful of unremarkable kisses. They know Kaoru has too, although they’ve done their best not to look. The important part is no one has made Kaoru’s heart race; the most excited he’s been so far has been Izumi. It’s something Rei doesn’t _want_ to be keeping track of, but the information presents itself nonetheless.

Typically, Koga appears all at once, with Adonis in tow. One moment there’s no one around, and then there is Koga, his hands slammed down on Rei’s booth—why do people keep _doing_ that?—and his wide grin in Rei’s face when they lift their head.

“Hello,” Rei mumbles.

“Shouldn’t you show some more fucking enthusiasm?” Koga says. “No one’s gonna wanna kiss you if you’re just draped over your booth like a wet rag!”

“I did not realize you were here on behalf of 3B, the only people who should care how many kisses I get,” Rei grouses. “Are you going to berate Kaoru-kun, too?”

Koga blinks, and looks over at Kaoru’s booth. Kaoru gives him a tired look, and Koga turns back to Rei. “No, because he’s actually standing upright and doing his job. For once.”

“Hey now,” Kaoru says.

“Good morning, Sakuma-senpai,” Adonis says, smiling at Rei easily over Koga’s shoulder. “Is your booth doing well?”

“Well enough.” Rei thanks their past self for recruiting at least _one_ quiet junior. “What are the second year courses doing?”

“Food,” Koga says. “2A’s making takoyaki and Akehoshi keeps dropping ‘em on the ground. It’s impossible to watch.”

“Did you two plan on both doing these booths?” Adonis asks, which Rei _hates_. They sneak a glance at Kaoru, only to find Kaoru looking at them. When their eyes meet, they both look away.

“No,” Kaoru says, staring down the street.

“And ya didn’t think to ask?” Koga raises his eyebrows at Rei. “We had practice on Tuesday, and neither of you said anything?”

“Frankly, doggie, I did not think Kaoru-kun would be chosen,” Rei says faintly.

“Okay, so why didn’t _you_ ask?” Koga asks Kaoru. If the conversation is directed at Kaoru, Rei is allowed to look at him, right? Kaoru looks about as uncomfortable as Rei feels.

“Forgot,” Kaoru says, the same way one might say, _Let’s change the topic_ , or, _I would love to be_ anywhere _else right now_.

“Have you two only come to harass us?” Rei cuts in as Koga opens his mouth again.

Koga closes his mouth. Adonis says, “We wanted to say hello.”

“Okay, well, you’ve done that,” Kaoru pipes up. “You’re not here for kisses, right? Not that you’d get them anyway.”

“That’s a bad business model,” Koga says. “But there’s no way I’d kiss either of you assholes!”

“That’s an odd way to say _senpai_ , doggie.”

“Eat shit.” Koga folds his arms across his chest, stepping away from Rei's booth. “Let’s go, Adonis. There’s meat grilling up the street—I can smell it.”

Adonis nods. “I can also smell it.” He turns to Rei and Kaoru, his face thoughtful. “I did want kisses, though. To support my senpai?”

All three of them stare at him in surprise.

“You...” Kaoru starts.

“That’s very nice of you, Adonis-kun,” Rei continues.

“You really wanna kiss _them_?” Koga finishes.

Adonis bears their collective surprise calmly. “If you aren’t comfortable with it, I won’t. But as you are running these booths, I would like to support your cause.”

Rei glances over at Kaoru, and finds Kaoru’s looking at them too.

“Well,” Kaoru hedges, “we can’t really turn customers away...”

“I think that’s very sweet, Adonis-kun,” Rei says. They keep watching Kaoru as they continue, “I have no objection to kissing you, then.”

Kaoru nods. “Yeah, me neither.”

“All right.” Adonis steps up to Kaoru’s booth first, and lays two coins on the counter.

“Just a small one,” Kaoru tells him.

“Of course.”

It’s like a strange business transaction. Maybe that’s why Rei doesn’t feel anything watching Adonis lean in and press his lips to Kaoru’s. It’s a soft, chaste kiss, and they break apart quickly. Kaoru’s cheeks are tinted pink, but he appears unaffected otherwise, scooping the coins off the counter and smiling politely at Adonis.

“Thanks,” Adonis tells him.

“I should be thanking _you_ ,” Kaoru mutters.

Adonis moves over to Rei’s booth next, and now Rei _does_ feel something. They forget, since they see him several times a week, that Adonis is really handsome, with big soft eyes and a shy smile and muscles that strain at his uniform shirt, and Rei knows Adonis could probably pick Rei up with one hand and throw them across the city, but that Adonis would rather rub Rei’s back and cook them nice things, and these are all bad thoughts to have when Adonis is about to kiss them. Their chest feels tight as Adonis sets two coins on the counter and looks up expectantly, meeting Rei’s eyes.

“Okay,” Rei murmurs.

They lean in and kiss Adonis gently. His lips are not as soft as Rei expected, but they’re rough in a way that Rei kind of likes. Under different circumstances, they might want to explore this some more, but they remember that Koga is watching, and— And Kaoru is watching, and they pull back, taking a deep breath. Adonis’ eyes flick open, and he smiles softly back at Rei.

“Thanks,” Rei says, before Adonis can.

“No problem. See you two later.” Adonis waves at Rei and Kaoru and then walks back over to Koga, who looks like he’s swallowed a bug. “Let’s go, Oogami.”

“Yeah,” Koga growls.

They walk off, and Rei watches as Kaoru visibly deflates, slumping over his counter almost as much as Rei had been. It takes a lot of effort for Rei to not immediately mirror him.

“Tiring, hm,” they mumble, reaching for their tomato juice. The can is almost empty now.

“Exhausting,” Kaoru groans, staring at Adonis and Koga’s retreating backs.


	5. Tension

Exhausted since long ago, Rei dozes off in the midday sunlight. They can’t tell how long it’s been since their unitmates visited, but after them, not one customer has been remarkable at all, and it’s _tiring_. Rei is nearly asleep when Kaoru attempts to catch their attention — rather loudly, in fact.

“Sakuma-san, is it time for lunch yet? Come on, join me, I’m starving~”

His voice is surprisingly cheerful, considering how awkward things have been until now, but Rei can’t find it in themself to question it much.

“Oya…?” Perhaps some food _would_ make them feel better… “Yes, yes, lead on, Kaoru-kun… Ah, should we put some sort of sign that we’ll be back in a bit…”

Thinking in sunlight is hard, but Kaoru doesn’t seem to mind their compromised state; rather, he shakes his head fondly, and makes those signs for them, one for each. He slaps one on his own booth, then walks over to Rei and puts one on their booth as well.

“Come on, then, Sakuma-san”, Kaoru tugs them along rather insistently.

“What does that say?” Rei squints at the sign. Hm, they may be in need of some glasses. Kaoru replies by rolling his eyes, tugging on Rei’s arm again. Rei follows him happily enough, clutching at his hand before Kaoru can pull it away. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere with no people. I mean —” Kaoru lowers his voice. “I figured neither of us want to kiss Tenshouin-kun.”

Rei grows more alert at that, lifting their gaze to glance behind them. They nod as soon as they spot Eichi, lingering at a nearby booth.

“...Yes. You did well to think of that. Somewhere out of the sun, though, would be ideal…”

Oh, Kaoru is cute, such a good and thoughtful boy, and his hand is warm against Rei’s. He’s scanning the booths, now, navigating them through all the other people enjoying the festival.

“Is there anything particular you’d like to eat? I’ll treat you.”

Rei yawns, and plops their head on Kaoru’s shoulder under the guise of looking at the booths. It’s fine, right? They can pretend they’re only touchy because they’re sleepy? Definitely not because they’ve watched so many guys kiss Kaoru today, and are only now having a chance to have him for themself for a while?

“Uhh… maybe… taiyaki?”

Kaoru laughs softly, and for a moment, it’s as if he was leaning his head against Rei’s. That feeling is gone before Rei can catch it, but the way Kaoru clears his throat afterwards suggests something _did_ happen.

“Okay… let’s get taiyaki.”

The person working at the nearest stand has a grin on his face when they approach, and Rei has to tug at their memory for a while, but then they remember; this guy came by earlier for a kiss.

“Hmm… I think I’ll just go with red bean paste”, Kaoru decides. “What about you?”

“Do they have pumpkin…?” Rei asks, scanning the menu. “No? Then, red bean paste as well, I suppose.” They can’t help giving the guy staffing the booth a wink. “Fancy seeing you again.”

“Just had to find me, huh?” the guy grins wider, and winks back. Rei searches for a retort to say back, but beside them, Kaoru seems to tense a bit.

“ _We’ll_ have two filled with red bean paste, please”, he says, voice a bit stiff, and slaps some money on the counter. Rei looks up at him and finds that he’s… pouting? If this was someone else, Rei would think it to be jealousy, but… why would Kaoru be jealous? He doesn’t even know this guy. Still… his pout is cute, and Rei wishes idly that they could kiss it.

“Thank you for the food, Kaoru-kun”, they say softly, and Kaoru jumps, then wraps an arm around Rei’s shoulders.

“A-ah… you’re welcome. Someone needs to make sure you eat, you know?” He grips Rei a bit tighter, and Rei sighs. It’s nice being this close to Kaoru, especially since the opportunity doesn’t present itself often.

“Here’s your taiyaki.” The boy’s eyebrows are raised as he holds out their food. Kaoru grabs the taiyaki and hands one to Rei. If Rei isn’t mistaken, Kaoru shoots the cashier a glare as they leave, but then Kaoru’s leading them away.

He directs Rei over to a large tree with lots of shade, where they’ll be protected from the cruel sun. Slipping out from under Kaoru’s arm, Rei flops down at the base of the tree. They peel the wrapper back on the taiyaki, and begin nibbling on it.

Now that they’re out of the sun, Rei immediately feels better, almost like they could hold a normal conversation.

“How are you doing?” Perhaps it’s too forward to ask, but... “Are your lips sore?”

Kaoru sits, strangely close to Rei, and idly brings his fingers to his lips.

“...Yes, kinda. Yours?”

“Yes, I would say so”, Rei laughs. “I’ve had quite a lot of traffic, have you noticed? I thought my reputation had been thoroughly smashed by Tenshouin-kun last year, but it appears not…“ They take a small bite of their taiyaki, and Kaoru sighs dramatically.

“Mm. More than me, I’d say… That’s what you get from a school with so many boys.”

“Yes. Well… Perhaps people are wary, no?” They smile faintly. “Since you have been so opposed to boys in the past.”

Kaoru is pouting again for some reason, and grumpily takes a bite of his taiyaki.

“Still, you’d think they’d realise I’m a good kisser. Worth the whole money.”

“Yes”, Rei mutters, deciding to tease Kaoru a little — just a little. “I’m sure you have much experience to offer, unlike me. I’m sure I’ve disappointed several of my many guests…“

“Oh, uh, I didn’t mean —” Kaoru is suddenly flushed, and Rei’s eyes widen with the realisation that it worked even better than they expected. “I’m sure — um — I’m sure they’ve all been satisfied with you, your…“

The way Kaoru is blushing is _cute_ , and Rei almost chokes on their next bite. Next to Kaoru, the taiyaki in their hand no longer seems appetizing, and Rei stares at it dully. Meanwhile, Kaoru is breaking records with how fast he’s stuffing the rest of his own into his mouth.

Rei keeps staring sadly at their taiyaki. They do not want to eat this warm fish object anymore, but they know if they go back into the sunlight without food, they will be too faint to properly kiss people.

“Need any help with that? Would you have wanted something else after all?” Kaoru asks, concerned. “I can get you something.”

“No… it’s all right”, Rei sighs, taking another bite.

Kaoru frowns, but doesn’t press further. Instead, he takes out a water bottle, takes a long sip, and offers it to Rei afterwards.

Rei eyes the bottle for a while before accepting it. An indirect kiss… which is surely the most they’ll get from Kaoru today.

“Thank you.” Rei takes a small sip, and hands the bottle back to Kaoru. While Kaoru drinks more from it, Rei makes a final attempt at eating the taiyaki, as unappealing as it is.

“We need to get back soon”, Kaoru notes. His taiyaki has disappeared with much more efficiency than Rei’s, but he’s also right.

“All right”, Rei mumbles, finally giving up on their food. They ate more than half of it, so it should be acceptable to abandon the rest. Kaoru stands up, stretches, and hesitates for only a moment before offering a hand to Rei.

Surprised but not at all disappointed, Rei takes Kaoru’s hand and drags themself up with his help. The strange thing is, Kaoru forgets to let go, but Rei doesn’t mind. Kaoru’s hand is warm again, and when he takes the lead in finding the way back to their booths, Rei is happy to follow.

The kissing booths appear too soon, and to Rei’s dismay, there’s a customer already waiting in line to their own booth. They’d hoped for… what? Some more conversation, maybe? After they left the booths, for the first time today, the atmosphere has felt almost _normal_ , and now they have to part again.

“Well… good luck with the rest of the day, right?” There’s a faint smile on Kaoru’s face as he lets go of Rei’s hand.

“Yes”, Rei nods. “You too, Kaoru-kun.” They linger on the syllables of his name, not wanting to let go just yet, because letting Kaoru go means more hours of watching him kiss people who aren’t Rei.

Kaoru does a small handwave, and with that, he returns behind his booth.


	6. Itsuki Shu

The first interesting thing to happen since lunch break is when Itsuki Shu walks to their booths, blushing even before he’s reached them. Kaoru welcomes the distraction, because it means he’ll maybe think of something else than that lunch with Rei, and everything related to it, such as Rei’s hand clasped against his, or Kaoru’s own irrational behaviour when that taiyaki boy was involved.

 _Really,_ Rei could do much better, so Kaoru was only helping them out by ending that boy’s pitiful attempt at flirting with them.

This one shouldn’t be as bad. Shu and Rei are friends, so watching them kiss shouldn’t give Kaoru any bad feelings inside. Though, he also thought the same when it came to Adonis, but Rei seemed to enjoy it a bit more than the other people they’ve kissed.

Or maybe Kaoru is just jealous and sees things that aren’t true, but, Adonis is handsome, so it’s not strange Rei would react like that… right?

Shu walks straight to Rei’s booth, which is, kind of what Kaoru expected. He can’t really demand class loyalty when all of the guy’s friends are on the other class.

“Rei”, he greets — and he does remember Kaoru, too, giving him a nod. “Hakaze.”

“Hey”, Kaoru nods back. “Oh, Mademoiselle-chan came too! Hello~”

 _“Kaoru-kun, hello”,_ Mademoiselle greets, and Kaoru gives her a small handwave and a smile. _“Business doing good?”_

“Good enough”, Kaoru laughs. “Though Sakuma-san keeps snatching the prettiest customers, such as you, apparently.”

Mademoiselle giggles, a delightful sound, and Kaoru instantly feels refreshed. _“Perhaps I’ll be your customer after this, hmm~”_

“Oh”, Kaoru sighs, “that would be lovely.”

After such a promise, watching Rei kiss Shu might not be so bad. Kaoru is still smiling when Shu offers Rei some coins, and still smiling when Rei leans over the counter to cup Shu’s face.

Okay, even after all that, he doesn’t want to actually _watch_ this, so he discreetly checks his phone while the others are occupied with kissing.

It’s over fast, and there aren’t even any gross kissing noises, like some _other_ customers have made. Kaoru’s day is really looking up, huh? Well, apart from the fact that the day is far from _over_ _,_ and with Kaoru’s luck, the next customer _will_ make gross kissing noises.

Shu clears his throat, straightens the ruffles on his shirt, and steps away from the booth. There’s a faint blush on his cheeks again, and Kaoru is kind of impressed that he can look _cute,_ with how often there’s a frown on his face.

“I’ll talk to you later, then”, Shu says, and Rei yawns as a response, prompting an almost fond chuckle out of Shu. Next, Shu turns towards Kaoru, gaze thoughtful, and Kaoru perks up. “Hakaze. I expect you to behave, if you are to kiss my precious Mademoiselle.”

“I always behave”, Kaoru nods enthusiastically.

Rei coughs.

“Hm. Very well.” Shu walks from Rei’s booth to where Kaoru is, and lays down coins on his counter, like he did on Rei’s counter just a few moments ago. “Only on the cheek, do you hear me?”

“Itsuki-kun, I’m a gentleman”, Kaoru huffs. “On the cheek, I promise.”

“Hm.”

“Sakuma-san, vouch for me here”, Kaoru whines.

Rei gives him a small glare, as if to say, _don’t pull me into this,_ but then they sigh, shaking their head with a smile. “Kaoru-kun wouldn’t lie. He’s a good boy.”

“Okay, I hear you”, Shu offers Mademoiselle over the counter. Kaoru hums happily and leans over to press a chaste kiss to her cheek, just as promised.

Kaoru pulls back, and smiles brightly at Mademoiselle. “Whoa, I think she’s blushing?”

“Perhaps”, mutters Shu, and _he’s_ definitely blushing. “But don’t get any ideas.”

“Of course, of course~” Kaoru hums. “I’ll see you both around, then, Itsuki-kun, Mademoiselle-chan.”

 _“Thank you for the kiss, Kaoru-kun~ tee hee~”_ are Mademoiselle’s parting words, and Shu nods at him once more before leaving.


	7. Marine Bio Club

After Shu, and after a whole lot of unremarkable customers, the next Oddball to visit is Kanata. Souma follows closely behind, and Kaoru smiles at the thought that they’ve been going around together — as a club.

(Yes, Kaoru is a part of the club too, but he hasn’t done a stellar job at his attendance record. Souma looks happy enough to follow Kanata around.)

“Rei~ Kaoru~” Kanata’s voice, tranquil as always, is familiar and soothing. “We have ‘arrived’~”

“I can see that”, Kaoru laughs. “Here for kisses?”

“Yes!” Kanata beams. “And to ‘support’ our ‘friends’.”

“Hakaze-dono”, Souma greets stiffly.

“Souma-kun”, Kaoru nods back.

Rei’s smile is fond as they beckon Kanata over with their hand. “Start with me, okay? Kaoru-kun _just_ got a kiss.”

“It was a bad kiss, though”, Kaoru mutters. “The guy’s breath _stank_.”

“It still counts as a kiss.”

Kanata giggles, floating closer to Rei’s booth. “You have both had a ‘fun’ day, I see~”

“That’s one way to put it”, Kaoru rubs at the back of his head. “Ahh~ it’s nice to see some familiar faces.”

Souma stays closer to Kaoru, delicately turning away from the soon-to-be-happening kissing at the other booth. Unfortunately, that means he’ll have to face Kaoru, and they both awkwardly avoid each other’s eyes once they hear said kissing starting.

 _Hear_ , because just like Kaoru suspected earlier that day, Kanata kind of kisses like a fish. Kaoru has heard a lot of weird kissing noises today, but these are, well, inherently _Kanata_ , kind of sloppy but not disgusting. And then there’s the fact that they’re both giggling as they kiss — a sound Kaoru is used to hearing from Kanata, but from _Rei_ —

Kaoru looks at Rei’s smile and idly wonders if he could ever make them laugh like that.

“You can turn around now”, Kaoru informs Souma. “There’s no more kissing happening, so there’s no more need to be embarrassed, either~”

“I wasn’t — embarrassed!” Souma claims, face dyeing red. “It was a matter of _privacy_. Something you didn’t seem to grant them.”

“Souma-kun”, Kaoru whines, “me and Sakuma-san have kissed like a _hundred_ people today. It’s impossible to _not_ see a few of those. Besides, I don’t think Kanata-kun minds.”

“Kaoru is right, Souma”, Kanata says as he drifts closer to them. “We are old ‘friends’, so there is nothing to be ‘embarrassed’ about…♪”

“I-I wasn’t!”

Kanata laughs softly, and steps in front of Kaoru’s booth. “Kaoru~ I want a ‘kiss’ from you, too~”

“Of course, of course”, Kaoru laughs. “Payment first~”

Kanata hands him a few coins, and they are — wet.

Somehow, Kaoru isn’t surprised.

Apart from the weird noises, kissing Kanata is actually pretty nice. He kisses Kaoru slowly, steadily, and it’s easy to kiss him back, too; Kaoru just needs to close his eyes and relax. Maybe Kanata’s lips are a bit cold, but that’s just how he is — or it could be because he kissed Rei just before Kaoru —

That thought is dangerous, _these lips kissed Rei just a few minutes ago_ , and Kaoru feels himself blush, then linger with the kiss. Kanata hums happily, but finally, is the first one to pull away. Kaoru blinks, then comes to the conclusion that he probably should have cut it out earlier, considering the way Souma is squinting at him.

“Thank you, Kaoru~” Kanata giggles. He turns and holds out two coins for Souma. “Souma… it is your ‘turn’…♪”

“What?” asks Kaoru.

“What?” asks Souma.

“You need to ‘support’ Kaoru”, Kanata says, like it was the most obvious thing on earth. Souma, though, looks very pale, and Kaoru thinks, it wouldn’t be good rep for the booths if a customer fainted mid-kiss.

He looks at Souma. Souma avoids looking back at him. Kanata presses the coins into Souma’s hand, gently curling Souma’s fingers around them.

“If you don’t want to—” Kaoru starts.

“No!” Souma blurts out. He clenches his hands into fists. “I—I would like to support H... Hakaze-dono!”

Kanata sways happily from side to side.

“If you like,” Rei says, and Kaoru looks over at them quickly, “you could give Kaoru-kun a cheek kiss. My children from my club supported me that way earlier...”

That’s a little better, although if Kaoru remembers right, he didn’t see any money changing hands. Souma looks less repulsed by that prospect, though, even nodding as he looks up at Kaoru. “Yes, I... I could do that.”

“Okay.” Kaoru leans over his booth counter and turns his face so Souma can reach his cheek easily. The urge to tease him is _very_ strong, but he doesn’t want Souma to injure his face or any other part of him, even if there’s a whole wooden booth between their bodies.

Souma walks carefully up to Kaoru’s booth, sets Kanata’s coins gingerly on the counter, and leans in, his eyes squeezing shut, to kiss Kaoru’s cheek. Kaoru takes pity on him (and also wants the situation to be over as quickly as possible) and tilts his head so that Souma’s lips will find his cheek perfectly. Souma plants a light kiss on Kaoru’s cheek and then pulls back so quickly Kaoru wonders if he hurt his neck.

“Wow, not so bad, was it?” Kaoru teases, unable to help himself.

“I... I suppose not.” In contrast to earlier, when all the color had drained from his face, now Souma is _blushing_ , a surprisingly cute red flooding his cheeks. Kaoru feels his smile widen at the sight, and Kanata pats Souma on the back.

“Souma~ You did very well,” Kanata praises him. “We are going to get ‘fish’ now, yes?”

Souma nods. “Yes! I would like that...” He hesitates, and then bows his head to Kaoru. “I hope your booths continue to do well.”

Kaoru blinks. “Thanks, Souma-kun.”

“Thank you,” Rei echoes.

As Kanata and Souma move off down the street, Kaoru sags forward against his booth counter. For a club that he joined just to slack off, his club members certainly tire him out sometimes. When he looks over at Rei, though, they’re watching him fondly.

“You get along better than I thought,” they say.

Kaoru frowns. “What about that looked like ‘getting along’?”

“An old man knows.” Rei taps their temple, smiling.


	8. Mikejima Madara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was written by captain, but wabby helped with editing and plotting, as it's still part of the collab project!

After Kaoru’s club leaves, another round of uneventful kisses occur, but with a handful of hours of this under their belt, Rei doesn’t mind it so much. It’s been nice seeing their friends and classmates, and even getting kisses from...a few people Rei was hoping might stop by. Of course, not _all_ of the people Rei would like to kiss have come up to their booth, but... Well, it’s best to look at the positives.

It’s fitting that only a few minutes after Kanata and Souma leave, Mikejima Madara comes to visit the pair of kissing booths. His approach is nearly silent—by now Rei knows this to be a Madara specialty, even though it seems so opposite the rest of his character—but then he appears in front of Rei’s booth, calling out Rei’s name and clasping his hands together. Rei prepares themself for the headache they’re surely about to get.

“Rei-san, Rei-san! I’m sorry it took me so long to find you!” He lower his head, as if ashamed. “I saved money for you, so don’t worry! Ah, today is so much fun—are you having fun? Have you gotten to enjoy the festival?”

“No,” Rei says. “I am chained here at this booth.” They don’t hate the idea of kissing Madara, although that realization makes them a little frightened of their own taste in boys. “Well, are you here for a kiss? Let’s get it over with, then.”

“So businesslike,” Madara says, nodding approvingly. “I am, indeed... For _two_ kisses.” He sets down two coins on Rei’s counter.

“This is only enough for one kiss,” Rei tells him.

Madara’s grin widens. “There are two booths, yes? Two kisses. Ah!” He claps his hands together. “But I want to kiss the incredible Rei-san first.”

Rei looks over at Kaoru and finds him suddenly very interested in the wood grain of his counter.

“All right,” Rei sighs, “let’s get this over with,” and leans forward. Madara does almost everything perfectly, so Rei expects him to be a good kisser. Madara puts a hand on Rei’s jaw, his palm calloused and warm against Rei’s skin, and his lips meet Rei’s, firm and surprisingly soft. Rei isn’t opposed to lingering here, but Madara pulls away, and Rei opens their eyes to find him smiling gently back at them.

“You’re a lovely kisser, Rei-san,” Madara says, but he’s already turning to Kaoru, fixing his gaze intently on him. Rei watches Kaoru begin to sweat.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while, Kaoru-san,” Madara tells him, and Rei kind of wants to scream, because that’s _their_ line. “I’ve always found you handsome, and, of course, Rei thinks so highly of you, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about... But I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. So this is the perfect chance, yes?”

“Uh,” Kaoru says.

Madara laughs. “Don’t look so shocked! It’s not a marriage proposal!” He walks up to Kaoru’s counter and presents two coins. Kaoru fumbles with the collection box as he puts them away. “Just one kiss, yes?”

“Okay,” Kaoru nods.

“I’ll have to make it count, then,” Madara hums. He leans forward, putting his hand on Kaoru’s jaw like he did Rei’s, except Rei watches as Madara’s fingers sneak into Kaoru’s hair, sinking into the thick blond strands. He nudges Kaoru’s face forward, angling him into a kiss that is—okay, if the way Madara kissed Rei was chaste, this is...

Rei watches as Madara kisses Kaoru hungrily, the press of their mouths together eliciting a slick sound that Rei, who feels like they’re watching from a hundred miles away, hears as if they’re inches from their mouths. They watch Madara catch Kaoru’s lip with his teeth, and they watch as Kaoru’s cheeks bloom with red, his hands gripping tighter at his booth as his knees threaten to buckle. Rei wants to stop them, except— Except Kaoru isn’t pulling away, and Rei _knows_ he’s enjoying it, and Rei should let him have this, even though—

Madara pulls away, and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. He gives Kaoru the same gentle smile he gave Rei, and Kaoru looks back—surprised, dazed, flushed—and stammers, “T-Thanks, I...guess?”

“Thank _you_ , Kaoru-san,” Madara says. He bows his head and takes a step back, and then glances quickly at Rei. Rei knows he’s looking for confirmation—if he stepped out of line, he probably at least wants to know.

But he didn’t, did he? After all, Kaoru seemed all right with the kiss. And it’s not like Rei has any say over who gets to fluster Kaoru like that. It’s not as if they’re allowed to want to be the only person who makes Kaoru blush like that—that would be silly. Right?

They nod at Madara. He nods back, and turns to leave. Rei ignores the way their chest hurts as they watch him walk off.


	9. The Magicians

The day is so close to being over and Kaoru is more than happy about it. He’s seen way more people kiss Rei than he ever wanted to, and his own lips have suffered too. Also, Madara was _very_ enthusiastic about the whole kissing business, so Kaoru wouldn’t mind not getting any more customers after that.

Someone is still approaching, though — except they go to Rei’s booth, and. Ah. It’s Hibiki, with the Oddball kid. So they probably want kisses from Rei. Kaoru can’t help but sigh. Maybe at least these will be the last ones of the day.

At Rei’s booth, Hibiki is grinning widely. “Rei~ Has business been good?”

Rei sighs and straightens up. If Kaoru had to guess, after watching Rei kiss a lot of people today, he’d say Rei does not want to talk to Hibiki, which is gratifying. “...hello, Hibiki-kun, Sakasaki-kun.” Ah, that was his name. “Yes, it has. You’ll be glad to hear our class has made a great deal of money off my, ah, mouth.”

Hibiki’s grin widens even further, which Kaoru hates. “Aw, such a dedicated worker!”

Rei sighs again. They look fond, even while there’s a tired expression on their face. “Did you two come here for kisses, or just to tease me?”

“Both”, Hibiki says immediately.

“Can I go First?” asks Sakasaki. “I need to be somewhere after This.”

“What’ll it be? A kiss on the cheek?” There’s a small smile on Rei’s lips, and Kaoru thinks, this isn’t going to be too bad after all.

“No”, Sakasaki pouts, “I want a proper Kiss.”

Okay, take that back.

Rei chuckles, and Sakasaki huffs as he lays down a few coins. He’s still pouting slightly when he takes one step closer, but it disappears when Rei leans forward, closes their eyes.

Sakasaki kisses them quickly, just a peck on the lips, and he’s visibly blushing when he pulls away after a second, before Rei can even begin to respond to the kiss.

“Well? How was that?” Rei asks, smiling.

“Hm. More fun than I Expected.”

See? Not bad!

“That was so quick you could get another for the same price, though”, Rei muses.

Right. Taking that back, too.

Sakasaki agrees, and this time, Rei has time to kiss him back. And, okay, maybe it’s kind of cute, because Rei is smiling the whole time, in a similar way to when they kissed Kanata.

They must really cherish their friends. Kaoru feels warm.

After Sakasaki heads off, Hibiki leans closer to Rei’s booth and slams down what must be three kisses’ worth of money. “Hmm~m... There seems to still be a moment before the closing time.”

Rei squints back at him. Kaoru, several feet away, is also squinting. “... Lucky you, making it in before the deadline.”

Hibiki slides the money closer, as if perhaps Rei had not seen it, and, horribly, _winks_ at Kaoru. Kaoru hates everything that is happening. “Yep, I’m really lucky!” Hibiki leans closer to Rei. “You ready?”

At this point Kaoru can barely conceal that he’s staring. If asked, he could blame it on how loud Hibiki’s voice is. But he _knows_ what happens next isn’t going to be something he likes.

Rei’s brow furrows, his mouth pulled into a frown. “... You already paid, so do as you wish,” they say.

Hibiki turns his head and looks right at Kaoru. Flustered, Kaoru ducks his head, feeling his cheeks heat up. So what if he was staring?! From the smile on Hibiki’s face, though, it’s as if he _wants_ Kaoru to be looking...?

“Nice,” Hibiki says quietly. He leans in and cups Rei’s face with his hands. They’re friends, so he must think it’s fine to get more handsy than most of the other customers had been. Hibiki strokes Rei’s cheeks carefully with the sides of his thumbs, and then starts kissing them.

It’s slow, at first. Kaoru wants to look away, to give them some privacy in whatever moment they seem to be having, except he can’t. It’s like the metaphorical car crash, that you can’t look away from. At least Rei doesn’t seem to be getting too into it, just letting Hibiki kiss them, closing their eyes. That’s nothing new. Sometimes Rei closed their eyes for the other kisses.

Ah, but Hibiki had put down quite a lot of money, and after a moment of passive kisses from Rei, it’s as if he decides he wants his money’s worth after all. He presses closer, leaning all the way over the booth counter, and deepens the kiss, opening his mouth on Rei’s and sliding one hand up Rei’s jaw to tangle in their hair. Kaoru catches a slip of tongue between their mouths. And now, Rei can no longer feign indifference. Maybe if Kaoru wasn’t paying rapt attention, he would have missed it, but he hears very clearly Rei exhale a tiny whimper, and press closer to Hibiki, letting their mouth fall open. Hibiki does not relent. In fact, the bastard _smirks_ against Rei’s lips, and tugs on the ends of their hair.

Kaoru is mortified. What was that noise Rei had made?! It went straight to Kaoru’s blood, and now he’s in an even worse predicament than he’d imagined. He’s blatantly staring now, unable to tear his gaze from Rei’s face, from their mouth, still joined to Hibiki’s.

He watches as Rei stutters against the kiss, maybe as if to pull away, and their eyes flick open, just enough for Kaoru to glimpse their red irises. And then it’s as if they make up their mind about something. They press closer to Hibiki, and now they’re taking the lead, slipping their tongue into Hibiki’s mouth and tilting their head to one side.

They’re blatantly making out now. Kaoru feels a little sick. He’s _very_ certain tongues weren’t included in the price, and he would say something—he _should_ say something—except that Rei is clearly enjoying— _that_. Kaoru’s simultaneously burning with want and envy. Hibiki can just _walk up_ to Rei and start making out, and— Kaoru has seen so many people kiss Rei already and he hasn’t even gotten _one_ small kiss himself. The awful feeling twists in his gut, leaving a sour taste on his tongue that remains even when he swallows hard.

Another few seconds pass, and then Hibiki pulls back and surveys Rei’s face, as if admiring his work. Now that Hibiki’s face isn’t in the way, Kaoru gets a full view of exactly what Rei’s reaction to _that_ is, and as if the universe is intent on torturing him right now, Rei immediately turns and looks at Kaoru. They’re panting, their face flushed and their lips swollen and red, and they lift one hand absently to wipe their mouth off on their wrist.

Kaoru’s burning. Kaoru is not even breathing now. This is a thousand times worse than that taiyaki boy, than Madara or Kanata or anyone who had kissed Rei today. He forces himself to look away, his face flushed with shame at being caught staring. The image of Rei looking like that is going to be forever burned into his mind. He wants to _do that_ to Rei—or he wants Rei to do that to him—and it’s _unfair_ that people could just _pay_ Rei to kiss them.

Hibiki looks very satisfied. He squeezes Rei’s cheeks affectionately and then pulls away completely. “I’ll see you around, then...” He turns to Kaoru and winks, running his fingers over his own lips. “Both of you.” Kaoru wants to scream. Kissing Rei _and_ taunting Kaoru about it?! Who does this guy think he is?

Again, though, Rei doesn’t seem pleased. They pout and massage their cheeks when Hibiki retracts his hands. When Hibiki walks away, Rei’s pout deepens, as if that’s all they can think of to do, and then they carefully scrape Hibiki’s money off the counter and put it away in the collection box.

Without looking at Kaoru, they address him, their voice soft. “I wonder if we can be finished for the day now.”

Kaoru’s heart is beating very fast. This day is almost over, and it’s likely they won’t have any more customers in the few minutes before the booths are set to close. He’s just had an idea, and before he can overthink it, or panic about it, or anything that involves _not doing it_ , he digs in his pockets for money and finds a few coins left over from subway fare. His legs feel fantasy-light as he carefully steps out from behind his booth and makes his way to the front of Rei’s, avoiding their eyes.

This may be the worst idea ever. But he’s never going to get this chance again, and after watching what Hibiki did, there’s no question that he wants this _very_ badly.

“I, uh...” Kaoru sets down two coins and takes a deep breath, still looking down. “I’d like to purchase one kiss, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> almost there! thank you for sticking with us so far!!


	10. Finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the final chapter, in time for rei and kaoru's birthdays! thank you so much for reading and supporting them and this project! this was the first time we did a project like this together, and it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun! we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did <3

Time seems to pass in slow motion. Rei watches as Kaoru glances at his watch, then stares very hard at his countertop, then digs in his pocket for money, and then walks out from behind his booth and comes to stand in front of Rei’s. Should they say something? But what would they say? They can’t catch Kaoru’s eyes, his gaze still downcast, but they can hear his pulse thudding fast, and—

They’re almost not sure they heard the words right. It’s like a movie—they _know_ what Kaoru said, but they’re so sure that he would not say such a thing, not in this reality. It’s as if the boy in front of him, cheeks pink and shoulders firmly set, is a figment of Rei’s imagination, placed there by their own selfish desires. But all their senses assure them that this Kaoru, asking Rei to kiss him, is real.

“You...” Rei stops. They stare at the coins Kaoru laid on their counter. “Y-You can have a kiss for free?”

Kaoru finally looks up, and he frowns. Rei wants to melt into the ground if they somehow fucked this up before it even got to start. “That’s not how the booth works?” he says, and then blinks and lifts his eyebrows. “You mean? Kinda like a real kiss?” His gaze drops down to the counter again, a fresh blush blossoming on his cheeks. “I— I mean...”

Rei laughs, suddenly giddy. “Yes? Well— Did you want to purchase a fake kiss?”

“No!” Kaoru leans closer, his hands on the counter. “I... As real as possible.”

He’s so cute. Impossibly cute. Rei nods helplessly. “All right,” they agree.

It doesn’t seem like the right place for this sort of thing, for something so emotional and embarrassingly earth-shattering as a first kiss with this particular boy to happen in the middle of a crowded street at a fucking kissing booth, but Rei suddenly worries that if they ask Kaoru to move somewhere more private, he’ll chicken out, or Rei will, and Rei _wants_ to kiss him. So they lean across the counter and gently put their hand on Kaoru’s chin, guiding him into a chaste kiss.

They watch as Kaoru immediately closes his eyes and leans into the kiss, and then they close their eyes too, feeling Kaoru’s hands come to rest on Rei’s shoulders. Rei makes a quiet noise and angles their face against Kaoru’s better, kissing him more hungrily now that it’s clear Kaoru isn’t pulling away. Such a fact seems so amazing and impossible and yet Rei has adapted to this new reality where Kaoru _does_ want to kiss them, and in fact _is kissing_ them, remarkably fast. They sneak their hand into Kaoru’s hair and hold him there, thin fingers tangled through soft blond strands. They didn’t expect Kaoru’s hair to be so soft. Kaoru parts his lips, perhaps to breathe, and on impulse Rei slips their tongue into Kaoru’s mouth, tightening their hold on Kaoru’s hair. They can sense Kaoru’s pulse speeding up, and it’s a little bit intoxicating.

They kiss a little longer, Rei getting as much of Kaoru’s mouth as they can, and then they pull back to catch their breath and to get a look at Kaoru. They imagine they look rather the same as when Wataru had kissed them so thoroughly only a few minutes earlier, except now this look is all Kaoru’s, and Rei _wants_ it like that.

Kaoru blinks and sucks in a few breaths, his eyes fixing on Rei’s face and widening. He slides his hands back up Rei’s shoulders, not letting go. “H... Huh.”

He’s cute! Rei swallows and licks their lips. They probably should _talk_ about this, but now that _this_ has happened, Rei wants to be somewhere no one can see them. “We— Maybe we should— Go somewhere else...?”

They trail off, watching as a huge smile spreads across Kaoru’s face, as though he’s just processed what happened. “Yeah,” he says, his grey eyes suddenly bright. “I mean—where?” He pauses, and does a cute little laugh. “Doesn’t matter, I guess.”

Kaoru smiling like that is like the sun coming out, which sounds a lot less cliche in Rei’s head than it would if they said it out loud, surely. Rei blinks a few times. “Okay,” they agree, and then realize Kaoru didn’t actually suggest anything. Rei scans the area around them quickly and points off behind them to the entrance to one of the classroom building wings. “There? We can find an empty classroom?”

Kaoru nods fervently. “Yeah, yeah.” Surging forward, he takes Rei’s hand and starts leading them to the building, glancing around to make sure they’re not being followed. Everyone around them seems to be busy, and Rei knows their collection boxes are secured—well, there’s the coins Kaoru laid on Rei’s counter, but there’s no way Rei’s going back for those now. Kaoru pushes open the door and leads Rei down the hallway, now empty with everyone out enjoying the festival. Kaoru peers through the window on one of the doors and then opens the door, letting Rei go in first.

Thankfully, the room is empty, the lights turned off. It’s a relief to be out of the afternoon sun and inside a dark room, and Rei weighs the pros and cons of immediately pinning Kaoru against the closed door and comes up with only pros, and then they just do it, carefully pushing Kaoru against the door. They slot their body against his and hover close to his face, just in case he doesn’t want to kiss again, so he can stop them—

He does not. Kaoru grabs Rei’s arms and tugs their bodies flush together, and cranes his neck to kiss Rei firmly. Rei half expected Kaoru to stop them and ask to talk about all this, and Rei fully intends to let that happen...eventually, but this is better. They open their mouth and slide their tongue over Kaoru’s, pressing their body forward against his, until they hear the quiet knock of the back of Kaoru’s head against the door and pull back, checking that he isn’t hurt.

Kaoru opens his eyes with a quiet whine, maybe about hitting his head or about Rei’s tongue in his mouth or even about Rei pulling away before he wanted them to, and then he pulls back entirely, breathing hard. “Y-You... Huh...”

Rei licks their lips and reaches up to smooth their hair out of their eyes. The urge to tease Kaoru is impossible to resist. “Me?” they murmur, giving him a tiny smile.

Kaoru squirms, but he doesn’t look upset. “We...” He takes a breath as if to steady himself. “That was great? Was it for you too?”

Rei nods. “Yes. Do I not look like I enjoyed it?”

“I mean... It meant something?” Kaoru lifts his hand and cups Rei’s cheek in his palm. Rei melts a little. “I hope?” He looks uncertain suddenly, as if there’s _any_ reality in which Rei hasn’t wanted very badly to kiss Kaoru like that for the better part of a year.

Rei nods again, quickly. “Yes!” And then they realize Kaoru is probably thinking about the fact that Rei just kissed Wataru like _that_ , and it was just a kiss between friends, albeit very _close_ friends. “I... I’ve wanted to for a while,” Rei clarifies. “Um, that’s why—”

Oh, this is hugely embarrassing. They blush and lower their gaze, taking the hem of Kaoru’s shirt in one hand for something to fiddle with. “I suspect that’s why Hibiki-kun nominated me for our class representative.” That’s not a full explanation, but hopefully Kaoru can connect the dots—that Wataru knew Kaoru would be 3A’s representative, and hoped that over the course of the day, such a thing as this might happen, one thing leading to another...

Kaoru’s gaze softens. “He did? I just volunteered because I wanted to kiss boys.” He hesitates. “Well... I wanted to know what it’s like. It was a nicer thought until all those boys wanted to kiss you...”

Rei laughs, honestly surprised. “Oh...? I didn’t know Kaoru-kun wanted to kiss boys...” They tug gently on the hem of Kaoru’s shirt. “Well, you got your wish in the end, yes? I’m sorry you had to witness so many kisses in the meantime.” They’re going to have to have a _talk_ with Wataru later, about his methods.

“Some of them were far too eager...” Kaoru huffs, pouting. “Like that taiyaki boy.”

Rei does a soft _kukuku_ laugh. “Well... I suppose so. I did not expect many people to want to kiss me.” They move their hands up to tug on the ends of Kaoru’s hair. It’s very difficult to keep their hands off the many parts of his person that they’ve always wanted to fiddle with, now that they seem to be allowed to. “Can I make it up to you?”

Kaoru hesitates, thinking, and then blurts out, “Let me be the only boy you kiss?” As if realizing what he said, he flushes red and buries his face in Rei’s shoulder. “You know... _That_ way,” he amends into Rei’s shirt. “Maybe no tongue for Hibiki-kun?”

This sort of reaction isn’t what Rei expected. They expected, _Let me take you to dinner_ , or something. Perhaps watching Wataru shove his tongue into Rei’s mouth had affected Kaoru more than Rei thought. Rei laughs easily, petting the back of Kaoru’s head. “Oh, he certainly doesn’t deserve my tongue after what he pulled today. But I think I can do that. No first date, though?”

“I think we skipped a few steps already,” Kaoru says, his voice muffled in Rei’s shoulder. He looks up, meeting Rei’s eyes again. “Does the taiyaki count as a date? If not, then... I’ll take you on a proper one. If that’s what you want, too...?”

Rei shakes their head. It doesn’t feel real, planning a date with Kaoru, and yet if it _is_ a dream or something like that, Rei never wants it to end. “I think I’d like a proper first date. Then we can, er... Retroactively include the taiyaki.”

“Lovely,” Kaoru murmurs. He leans in and kisses Rei, this time with no urgency or heat, and sighs when they part. “I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he confesses.

Rei catches his mouth in another quick kiss, then another, unable to help themself. Kaoru’s so warm, and gorgeous, and there’s no way Rei could get enough of him, or make up for all the wanting they’ve done for months. “...me as well,” they say, and wind their arms around Kaoru’s shoulders, going in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> find us on twitter: [vaahtokarkki](https://twitter.com/watareikao) and [ohvictor](https://twitter.com/worldsearchyou)!


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